IT Reshoring News

November 24, 2015

Carl Icahn Invests in a Super PAC to Improve Corporate Tax Policy (and Bring American Jobs Back from Overseas)

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has a plan to reverse the offshoring trend--and he's putting $150 million into it. Icahn will benefit from his plan, of course. But Americans benefit too, in the form of more jobs staying within our borders.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has a new project. Late last month he invested $150 million in a new Super PAC (Political Action Committee).

One of his stated goals with the PAC? To stop businesses from moving operations outside the U.S.

"In the last few years over 50 companies have left the country through 'inversions,' representing over half a trillion dollars in market value, hundreds of millions in tax dollars, and tens of thousands of jobs", Icahn explained. "If this exodus is allowed to accelerate, there will be disastrous consequences for our already fragile economy."

How does he intend to improve this? By pushing for federal policy changes on corporate taxes. Specifically, he wants to lower the amount U.S. companies have to pay on the earnings of their foreign subsidiaries.

Right now, multinational corporations move operations and profits outside the U.S. to avoid paying higher taxes. It’s called "Corporate Tax Inversion". While technically legal, it definitely harms the U.S. economy.

Icahn's reasoning is—if the taxes on keeping profits in the U.S. aren't painful, then more companies will skip the hassle of moving money & jobs out of the U.S.

Icahn is a successful investor. A Bloomberg article on the topic points to his stake in Apple as one potential motivation. If corporate tax policy changes, he stands to benefit.

But America gains as well – through more jobs for American workers. If corporate tax policy improves, more businesses will either return operations to the U.S., or stop moving profits overseas.

Establishing another Super PAC is dubious, but it does push back against organizations like FWD.US. On the same playing field, no less. Let’s hope we see some positive policy change out of Icahn’s efforts.